Ukraine submits request for Patriot to Trump's team - Zelenskyy
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (president.gov.ua)
Ukraine, through US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, has submitted a request for Patriot systems to US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.
The journalist asks the President whether he expected to meet with Trump during the NATO summit and whether the issue of transferring Patriot systems to Ukraine would be discussed during the meeting.
Zelenskyy replies that the teams of both countries remain in touch, and the agenda for possible meetings is still being formed.
According to him, in Canada, he discussed this issue with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, who really wants Ukraine to be at the summit. The President also emphasizes that Kyiv is interested in a meeting at the level of the leaders of the Coalition of the Willing, and such contacts could take place during the summit.
Ukraine waiting for feedback on Patriot
"Patriot is a question not only for President Trump, but also for the Coalition of the Willing," the President emphasizes.
He explains that Ukraine has built a very good dialogue with the United States. In particular, he mentions the dialogue between the Minister of Economy of Ukraine, Yulia Svyrydenko, and the US Secretary of the Treasury.
"In Canada, Svyrydenko had a meeting with Secretary Bessent, and head of my office, Andrii Yermak, was also there. They discuss the mineral deal, our next steps, etc. He and Andrii also handed over to Bessent the package of weapons that we need. We will wait for the feedback," explains Zelenskyy.
According to him, it is a very large amount of money, as the package includes Patriot systems.
"As I said, we are ready to find money for this entire package. This is one of the topics for discussion with President Trump. I think we need to talk about sanctions as well. And, frankly, I think we need to talk about a new breath in the diplomatic track," he emphasizes.
He also notes that, in his opinion, more certainty and more pressure from the world on Russia's Vladimir Putin is needed.
"This is necessary for the sake of diplomacy. And I would like to discuss these formats with him," the President summarizes.
Air defense for Ukraine
A year ago, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needed 25 Patriot air defense systems to completely close its airspace.
Already this year, he said that Ukraine was ready to purchase $30-50 billion worth of weapons and air defense systems from the United States. In particular, he talked about purchasing 10 Patriot systems or obtaining a license for their production.
In April, Zelenskyy said that he had instructed the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to try to reach an agreement with the United States on the purchase of Patriot.
